Lord of the Yum-Yum,
aka Paul Velat, is a
classically-trained organist who leads the
Berkley-Hillside Presbeterian Church's choir, and teaches music at
St. Pius Elementary School in
Chicago, Il.
But he's so much more.
Best described as "
Pee-Wee Herman and
Bobby McFerrin's lovechild" by the
Chicago Tribune, Velat combines guttural
scat vocals, modal forms influenced by Bach fugues and a powder blue tuxedo into one of the most hilarious and oddly compelling live acts around.
Taking the human voice to a swirling trance of doo-wop and monk chant, a Lord of the Yum-Yum concert is disorienting, swirling, beautiful and strange at the same time that it doesn't take itself very seriously. His goofy demeanor belies a serious interest in improvised music, having hosted a series of concerts at
Roosevelt University in Chicago called
improvEXPLOSION since 2001 that help promote improvised music scene of Chicago.
Nearly inexplicable in text, Lord of the Yum-Yum has to be heard if you have ever hummed
Bizet's
Carmen while using the "
bee-bop-a-loo-bop" vocabulary of
Little Richard.